Slow and Steady Love
by RobertDowneyJrLove
Summary: When he watches them, he can see why they work. Reid/Prentiss fluff, established relationship. Yep, she's a cougar! It's Morgan watching them by the way.


They're not exactly the most conventional couple to ever exist.

She's older than him.

Surprisingly, it's the younger one who seems older and much more of a man than they all thought. The twenty-seven year old genius, who had long since stopped his infatuation with every woman who walked into his life, had room for only two women. His mother and _her. _It's not really surprising considering that they always gravitate toward each other. The geek and the woman hiding an inner geek had always a bond that nobody understood or even tried to understand. He seemed to excited to work with her and working with him never seemed to bring her down in the slightest. If anything, working with him makes the job a little easier for her.

The double date night at the movies had been the idea of his beautiful technical analyst. Originally it was just Derek and Penelope. Somehow it ended up with Spencer and Emily tagging along for a double date. At work, they're professional, hiding their relationship behind a professionalism that few could see through. Outside of work, it was almost impossible to find them without each other. Their bond was unbreakable. She was the older one but he was the protective one.

It's only when the movie is over and they're walking down the street to a little cafe to grab a late dinner before they go home does he see why they work.

He's taller than her, his six-foot frame leering over her, casting a long shadow on the dimly lit pavement. It's easy to see why their relationship might be awkward because of the height and the age difference but he continues watching them. Spencer looks different with his shorter hair, wearing a pair of slacks, converse sneakers with his usual mismatched socks and a white button down with a tie and a dark blue sweater to ward off the chill. He looks like the man that's been hiding behind the little boy that he usually seemed like.

Then he sees it.

Spencer wraps his arm around Emily's waist, finding her hip easily. It's not that, that surprises him. Outside of work, it wasn't uncommon for Spencer to have his arm around Emily. It's what he sees the boy genius do next that surprises him. She looks up at Spencer, a soft smile on her face as she covers his hand with hers. Spencer doesn't look tense or uncomfortable instead he seems comfortable and relaxed with the woman under his arm and his next move surprises both Derek and Penelope but Emily seems to be expecting it.

His large hand pulls Emily into his side, tucking the woman against his side as he buries his face in her hair and kisses her head. It's affectionate. Simple, affectionate and something only Spencer would do. It's not overly-affectionate because Derek knows that would make both of them uncomfortable but it seems to be Spencer's way of letting Emily know that he loved her. It's a casual move that Spencer easily executes as they walk down the street.

It doesn't take Derek and Penelope but a second to figure out why they work.

They worked because instead of being one of those overly-in-love couples who never worked out and fell out of love as quick as they fell in-love, Spencer and Emily were still falling in love with each other. It wasn't a relationship that would end as quick as it began. It was a relationship that was still being discovered. They were comfortable with how they felt about one another and the relationship is steady and comfortable for them. They aren't falling hard and fast. It's a slow, steady fall that seems relaxed and easy. The rhythm of their relationship is slow, playing out like a soft love song. It's in their eyes. They're falling in love each and every time they look at each other.

Instead of being an overly-romantic couple, they're soft, affectionate and doing what works for them and what's comfortable. They aren't pushing each other out of their comfort zones but at the same time, they aren't going slower or faster than normal for them. They're doing what they know best. They're being affectionate and tender and aren't pushing boundaries that would take their relationship from gentle and affectionate to tense and awkward.

"What do you think, Baby Girl?" Derek looked down at Penelope and smiled at his feisty red-head. "How long do you think they'll make it?"

"If the way they look at each other is any indication. That relationship is going to last forever." Penelope smiled as she watched her friends, who were walking a few feet in front of them. "Look at him, Derek. He's comfortable with a woman. Only Emily could bring that out of him."

Derek can only agree because he knows without a doubt she's right. When they reach the cafe, Spencer and Emily hold the door open for them and as he slips by them he can just make out what they whisper to each other. He can't help but grin at what he hears because after seeing them tonight, he knows it true.

_"I love you, Emily Prentiss." _

_"I love you too, Spencer Reid." _

* * *

><p><strong>Something about this couple is just so deliciously fanstically wickedly amazing! Okay I give, it's mostly Spencer that's deliciously fantastically wickedly amazing! I'm a fangirl but aren't we all? I love the idea of Reid and Prentiss because she brings out the softer, more vulnerable side of the geek we all love :) I don't why I made this as tender and sweet as I did but I can't imagine Spencer being anything other than tender and sweet with the women in his life :) <strong>

**Love you, **

**RobertDowneyJrLove **


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